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G. M. GUILD 8; B. G. BURNHAM.

PIANO FORTE.

Patented Peb.- 23, 1886.

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N PETERS Pllolu-Lnhugrnpher. Washington, 0.6v

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE MORSE GUILD AND BYRON OAVIS BURNHAM, OF BOSTON, MASS.

PIANO-FORTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,585, dated February 23, 1888.

Application filed March 30, 1885. Serial No. 160,652.

To aZZ whomit may concern:

Beit known that we, GEORGE Monsn GUILD and BYRON Oxvrs BURNHAM, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Piano-Fortes; and we do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a top View of part of the frame and sounding-board of a piano-forte,and some of the main and some of the auxiliary strings, and the devices, as hereinafter described, for supporting such strings. Fig. 2 is a trans- [5 verse section on the line 00 y of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the main bridge as exhibited in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of one of the auxiliary bridges F and its adjustable bar G, such section exhibiting the manner in which a string, S", crosses the bridge and the bar, and extends under and against the latter.

The nature of our invention is defined in the claims hereinafter presented.

In the said drawings, A denotes part of the wooden frame, and 13 part of the iron or stringsupporting frame, of a piano-forte. O represents the sounding-board, and D the metallic bridge, across which the series of main strings extend. The said bridge does not, throughout its entire length, rest upon the sounding board, it being for a short distance from its end, as shown, raised above and out of contact with such board, and there fixed to a bracket, E, that extends laterally from it, (the said bridge,) as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 2. The bracket near its rear end extends downward,or has a flange projecting down from it, as shown at a in Fig. 2, such flange resting on and being fastened to the sounding-board. The bracket is of metal and cast in one piece with the bridge. By thus having part of the bridge out of contact with the sounding-board and supported by a bracket projecting from such part of the said bridge, underneath the iron frame B and nearly to the next adjacent bridge of the auxiliary strings, it is found in practice that the sounding-board has more freedom of vibration, and a better tone of the strings results. Each of the main strings S at its middle is hitched (X0 model.)

upon a hitch-pin, such hitch-pins being rep resented at a b a 1), 8m, in Fig. 1. Furthermore, each string has three bearings or supports, 0 d e, that are stout metallic standards projecting upward from the bridge. The string goes through holes in the two outer bearings, c and e, and over and upon the top of the intermediate bearing, d, which is a little above such holes. (See Fig. 3.) The bear ings c of each next succeeding string extends laterally between the bearings c and d of the next preceding string, whose bearings d and 6 also extend laterally between the bearings c and d of the said succeeding string, such being to have each string apart from the next one a distance equal or Very nearly equal to the distance between the two parallel parts of such string. The bearings of each string should not touch the next preceding string. The auxiliary strings S extend above and cross the main string S, as usual in pianofortes. The hitch-pins of the strings S are shown at a a &c. There are aseries ofshort bridges, F, to such strings S. Each of such bridges goes down through the iron frame 13 without contact therewith and rests upon and is fastened to the sounding-board 0. (See Fig. 2.) Each bridge F has two bearingflanges, h, extending upward from it parallel to each other and at a short distance apart. Midway between each pair of such flanges is a bar, G, down through which headed screws 2' go and screw into the bridge. The strings S rest upon the tops of the two flanges h h, and

go under and across the bar G, and bear upward against such bar.

From the aboveit will be seen that by means of the screws the pressure of the bar on the string may be increased or diminished, so as to vary somewhat the tones of the strings ex tending under it, all of which are advantageous in tuning the instrument or keeping it in proper tune.

\Ve claim- 1. The combination of the bridge D, raised 5 at and near its end out of contact with the sounding-board, with a bracket, E, extending laterally from the part so raised out of contact with the sounding-board and nearly to the next adjacent bridge F, and having a flange :00

or projection to extend down to the sounding-" by an adjusting=screw, as and for the purpose board and fixed thereto, all being snbstandescribed.

tiall as represented.

2. The auxiliary bridge F, having two dou- 5 ble flanges, substantially as described, and

resting on the sounding-boardby. the flanges Witnesses: 4 V v 01119, in combination with the strings and the R. H. EDDY,

bar G, sustained upon the web of the bridge ERNEST B. PRATT. 

